The present invention relates to side rail for attachment to the upper end of a pickup truck cargo box side wall and in particular to a side rail that is integrally formed with a clamp portion for attaching the side rail and which does not utilize the cargo box stake pockets.
Side rails have commonly been attached to the side walls of pickup truck cargo boxes for decorative purposes as well as provide protection to the upper surface of the side walls. Typically, the side rails are attached to the cargo box through the stake pockets in cargo box side walls. However, the sidewall stake pockets are being used in only a small percentage of pickup trucks. As a result, there is an expectation that vehicle manufacturers may eliminate stake pockets from the cargo box.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for mounting side rails to a cargo box without utilizing the stake pocket.
It is a further feature to incorporate a clamp structure into the side rail itself rather than utilizing a separate clamp piece that cooperate with the side rail and the cargo box side wall.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a clamp attachment for the side rails that does not mar the cargo box by either drilling holes in the box or scratching the painted surface.
It is an advantage of the side rail of this invention that varying lengths of side rail can be used, independent of the stake pocket location. This enables the side rails to be used with a tool box mounted at the front of the cargo box. The side rails no longer have to extend along side the toolbox where they block access to the tool box.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a two-piece clamp mechanism is employed with the upper piece being integrally formed with the side rail itself. In a second embodiment, a single-piece clamp structure is used which is also integrally formed with the side rail. By clamping the side rail to the upper end of the cargo box side wall, there is no requirement for use of the stake pockets. Thus, side rails can be attached to a vehicle that does not include stake pockets in the cargo box. In addition, side rails of varying lengths can be used and attached any where along the cargo box side wall without regard to the location of stake pockets.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.